Discussion

Sautter-Bihl et al. (2000) studied 36 patients with HO of whom 27 patients (32 joints) received radiotherapy when ossification was minimal. 11 patients (13 joints) had obvious ossifications, which had to be resected. Post-op radiotherapy was performed 24-36 hours post-operatively. Two patients received radiotherapy both before and after surgery. Mean duration of follow-up was 23.6 months. 30 of the 36 irradiated patients showed no progression of HO. In three patients, reossification after therapy resulted in a moderate decrease in joint mobility.

In the follow-up case series by Sautter-Bihl et al. (2001), the authors examined the effectiveness of radiotherapy administered to 52 SCI patients. Radiotherapy effectively prevented primary and secondary HO post-surgical excision in 71% of patients. However, treatment did not result in regression of HO once developed, as measured by the Brooker scale. Two joints increased in Brooker score, although neither of them developed any functional impairment.

A case study by Cramarossa et al. (2013) reported on the use of radiation therapy on a patient who had previously experienced an SCI at the C5-C6 level and had been diagnosed with dysphagia due to HO-induced osteophytes. One day after surgical intervention which involved anterior cervical decompression and drilling of the osteophytes, the patient received a single treatment of radiation at 8 Gy. At follow-up, the patient reported that they were not experiencing any recurrence of dysphagic symptoms. The authors add that radiation should only be considered for patients at high risk of HO due to the risk of creating a radiotherapy-induced malignancy and that an expansion of the literature is required to better assist treatment decisions.